Spear & Jackson - 34cm Cordless Rotary Lawnmower - 24V

Product Information

Broadly speaking, spears were either designed to be used in melee, or to be thrown. Within this simple classification, there was a remarkable range of types. For example, M. J. Swanton identified thirty different spearhead categories and sub-categories in early Saxon England. [22] Most medieval spearheads were generally leaf-shaped. Notable types of early medieval spears include the angon, a throwing spear with a long head similar to the Roman pilum, used by the Franks and Anglo-Saxons, and the winged (or lugged) spear, which had two prominent wings at the base of the spearhead, either to prevent the spear penetrating too far into an enemy or to aid in spear fencing. [23] Originally a Frankish weapon, the winged spear also was popular with the Vikings. It would become the ancestor of later medieval polearms, such as the partisan and spetum.

After the Tang dynasty, the popularity of the Mao declined and was replaced by the Qiang (枪). The Tang dynasty divided the Qiang in four categories: "一曰漆枪， 二曰木枪， 三曰白杆枪， 四曰扑头枪。” Roughly translated the four categories are: Qi (a kind of wood) Spears, Wooden Spears, Bai Gan (A kind of wood) Spears and Pu Tou Qiang. The Qiang that were produced in the Song and Ming dynasties consisted of four major parts: Spearhead, Shaft, End Spike and Tassel. The types of Qiang that exist are many. Among the types there are cavalry Qiang that were the length of one zhang (approximately 320cm or 10ft), Litte-Flower Spears (Xiao Hua Qiang 小花枪) that are the length of one person and their arm extended above his head, double hooked spears, single hooked spears, ringed spears and many more. [43] J. Wilkins et al. "Evidence for early hafted hunting technology". Science, Vol. 338, Nov. 16, 2012, p. 942. doi:10.1126/science.1227608.This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Nicholson, Helen (2004). Medieval Warfare. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan. pp.102–3. ISBN 978-0-333-76331-5.

Sébastien Nadot, Rompez les lances! Chevaliers et tournois au Moyen Age, Paris, ed. Autrement, 2010. ( Couch your lances! Knights and tournaments in the Middle Ages...)Verbruggen, J. F. (1997). The Art of Warfare in Western Europe in the Middle Ages (2nd.ed.). Woodbridge: Boydell Press. pp.184–5. ISBN 978-0-85115-630-9.

Thieme, Hartmut (1997-02-27). "Lower Palaeolithic hunting spears from Germany". Nature. 385 (6619): 807–810. Bibcode: 1997Natur.385..807T. doi: 10.1038/385807a0. PMID 9039910. S2CID 4283393 . Retrieved 2017-01-09. From the late 2nd century BC, all legionaries were equipped with the pilum. The pilum continued to be the standard legionary spear until the end of the 2nd century AD. Auxilia, however, were equipped with a simple hasta and, perhaps, javelins or darts. During the 3rd century AD, although the pilum continued to be used, legionaries usually were equipped with other forms of throwing and thrusting spear, similar to auxilia of the previous century. By the 4th century, the pilum had effectively disappeared from common use. [17]

In the early Shang, the Mao appeared to have a relatively short shaft as well as a relatively narrow shaft as opposed to Mao in the later Shang and Western Zhou period. Some Mao from this era are heavily decorated as is evidenced by a Warring States period Mao from the Ba Shu area. [41] The Celts would symbolically destroy a dead warrior's spear either to prevent its use by another or as a sacrificial offering.